Greatest World Cup Matches: Argentina-France (2022)

The final of the World Cup in Qatar is one of the most memorable finals, in part because of the drama and many goals, but also because it was the final of a World Cup that truly defined FIFA’s commercial dominance over football; the tournament was awarded to a small nation with a lot of money, but with no football history or even participation in a World Cup, amid controversy about migrant workers and labour rights. According to some sources up to 6500 migrant workers may have died since the tournament was awarded to Qatar (although not directly involved in infrastructure building for the World Cup). At the same time too expensive ticket prices and no alcohol meant that the World Cup was full of controversy off the pitch. 

But on the pitch it had been a spectacle; and a spectacle that FIFA made a lot of money off, as they formed a narrative that made everyone forget the abuses of migrant workers. 

The masses were too entertained to care. 

Argentina was led by the great Lionel Messi. He was already a legend at club level, but the biggest prize had eluded him and Argentina: in 2014 they had lost a close-fought final against Germany, and in 2018 had flopped completely by falling in the first round. 

In 2021 Messi finally won his first title with Argentina with the Copa America in the final against Brazil, and the team had been strong during qualification under Manager Lionel Scaloni, who with limited experience when appointed in 2019, had forged a solid side that not only depended on Messi, but was able to exploit his qualities. So Argentina again entered the tournament as favourites. 

It was not only because of Lionel Messi, but Argentina had an outstanding team. On goal, a position that had hurt Argentina for years, Argentina had found a solid if provocative goalkeeper in Aston Villa’s Emiliano "Dibu" Martinez. Defenders included the veteran from Benfica, Nicolas Otamendi, and the veteran from Lyon, Nicolas Tagliafico, as well as Sevilla’s Gonzalo Montiel and Marcus Acuña, Tottenham’s Cristian Romero, Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez and the young Nahuel Molina from Atletico Madrid. A solid midfield to support Messi included Atletico Madrid’s Rodrigo de Paul, Alexis McAllister from Brighton Hove & Albion, Leandro Paredes from Juventus, Benfica’s youngster Enzo Fernadez, Sevilla’s veteran Papu Gomez, and the fantastic Angel DiMaria, who was known for scoring in finals (he scored the winner in the 2021 Copa America final). Attackers were from the best teams in the world and included Roma’s Paolo Dybala, Inter’s Lautaro Martinez, Atletico Madrid’s Angel Correa, and the young Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez. Manager Scaloni was a people-person, and forged a strong team spirit, where players who got replaced did not complain, but were still seen as a part of the team; it was thus that Lautaro Martinez eventually got replaced by the young Julian Alvarez in attack, while both Nahuel Molina and Alexis McAllister, who had been largely unknown before the tournament, became starters. 

All this said, Argentina fought hard to make it to the final, and in fact opened with a sensational 1-2 loss to Saudi Arabia; it was a huge disappointment, so Argentina was extra motivated for the following match against Mexico. Dominating but unable to score, it had to be Lionel Messi who opened the scoring and Argentina winning 2-0, and in the last match winning 2-0 over Poland, it was enough to win the group. 

In the last-16 Argentina faced a surprising Australian side who had made it to the last-16 by defeating Denmark. The Aussies also gave Argentina a difficult match, but the South Americans won 2-1 on goals by Messi and Alvarez. 

The quarterfinal between Argentina and Netherlands was pure drama: 2-0 down, Netherlands managed to equalize to 2-2 at the end of the match, but Dibu Martinez saved Argentina in a nerve-wrecking penalty shootout. 

In the semifinals Argentina faced a Croatian side who had defeated Brazil and humiliated Argentina 0-3 in 2018, but this time the Argentines hit back with their own 3-0 victory and made it to the final where they were to face the defending champions from 2018, France. 

France undoubtedly had one of the best teams in the world managed by the veteran and experienced Dider Deschamps. On goal was Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris, who despite occasional mistakes was a solid goalkeeper, supported by a string of super defenders: Bayern Munich’s Benjamin Pavard, Lucas Hernandez and Dayot Upamecano, Manchester United’s Raphael Varane, Barcelona’s Jules Kounde, and Arsenal’s young William Saliba. An extraordinary midifeld included the young Real Madrid player Aurelien Tchouameni, Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele, Juventus Adrien Rabiot, and the Real Madrid youngster Eduardo Camavinga. As offensive midfielder and strike threat was one of the best in the world in PSG’s Kylian Mbappe, complemented by other superstars that included Bayern Munich’s Kinglsey Coman, Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani, Borussia Monchengladbach’s young Marcus Thuram (son of the legendary Lilliam Thuram) and three highly experienced veterans in Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema, Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann, and AC Milan’s Olivier Giroud. 

France qualified through a relatively easy group ahead of Ukraine, Finland, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Kazakhstan, and were in the first round drawn in another relatively easy group D with Denmark, Australia and Tunisia. Despite losing to Tunisia, victories against Denmark and Australia were sufficient to win the group. 

They defeated Poland 3-1 in the last-16 and England 2-1 in the quarterfinals, before defeating the surprising Moroccans 2-0 in the semifinals to make their second final in a row and to defend their 2018 title. 

France did not appear to have struggled as much to make it to the final as Argentina, who nevertheless entered as nervous favourites; the 2014 defeat to Germany lingered in the Argentine mind, but the team was in its strongest lineup, including Angel DiMaria, who had missed the 2014 final. 

France was awful in the first half; perhaps the worst performance by a team in a World Cup final. It goes partly in credit to an Argentina side that pressed high and shot on goal from the start of the match, but the horrible first half, where France had no shots on goal, meant that Manager Deschamps already made two changes in the 41st minute, taking out an anonymous Ousmane Dembele and a hapless Olivier Giroud for Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram respectively. 

In the meantime, Argentina seemed unstoppable in the first half. High pressure, close chances by Alvarez and Messi, as well as a Rodrigo de Paul and Angel Di Maria who were clearly enjoying the match. The first goal came thanks to Di Maria who easily dribbled past Jules Kounde into the French area, and Kounde could do nothing but pressure him for behind and causing him to fall. Messi was cool despite the enormous pressure and scored, deservedly for Argentina. Argentina’s second goal was one of the best goals of the tournament: coming from a counterattack, three perfect first touches by Messi and Alvarez, the ball arrived at McAllister at full speed towards the goal, who passed it to an onrushing Di Maria on the left. Di Maria elegantly lifted the ball over Lloris and 2-0 for Argentina, who until then were totally dominant. It was a splendid goal and totally deserved for Argentina. 

As the second half started France's changes meant more organization, but it was still Argentina that dominated and had the ball. In fact, nothing appeared to threaten the Argentine lead, and Marcus Acuna came on for the splendid Angel DiMaria, who again had scored in a final for Argentina. 

With 20 minutes left Didier Deschamps made two additional changes: Eduardo Camavinga came on for Theo Hernandez to give more energy in midfield, and Kingsley Coman came on for Antoine Griezmann to put more pressure on the Argentine midfield and defense. 

With 9 minutes left France was given a glimmer of hope: Otamendi could not keep up with Kolo Muani’s speed and brought him down inside the Argentine penalty area. Kylian Mbappe was cool-headed and made it 2-1 on what was effectively France’s first shot on target during the second half. 

After the goal, France started to play football for the first time during the match as Argentina was ready to keep suffering as they had done throughout the tournament. 

And they suffered as the saddest tango song when Kylian Mbappe made it 2-2: an elegant pass by Marcus Thuram above the Argentine defense and Kylian Mbappe resolutely volleyed the ball into goal. 

It was a dramatic end to the match as it went into extra time where France appeared on top as they had equalised a match that until the 80th minutes seemed to be under Argentina’s control. 

As expected both teams were tired but full of fight in the extra time. Argentina had brought on Lautaro Martinez for Julian Alvarez ten minutes into extra time, and the striker brought renewed energy into the Argentine attack; he had some close misses before one of his shots was blocked by Hugo Lloris, but Messi managed to score on the rebound from close range. 

Argentina was again ahead, but it was not to last. Another penalty was awarded for France in the 117th minute on a handball by Gonzalo Montiel, and again Kylian Mbappe scored, becoming only the second player in World Cup histroy to score three goals in a final, after Geoff Hurst in 1966. 

3-3 with 3 minutes left, but the match was close at not going into penalty kicks when Kolo Muani got the chance of a lifetime to win the World Cup: a lose ball landed for him at the edge of the area, alone in front of the goalkeeper, but an extraordinary save by Dibu Martines kept Argentina alive for penalty kicks. 

The two superstars, Messi and Mbappe opened by scoring, but it was then Martinez who took the stage. Openly using psychological tactics he first saved Kingsley Coman’s shot, and then made Aurelien Tchouameni shoot wide of goal. 

The Sevilla defender Gonzalo Montiel was to score on the penalty that gave Argentina the World Cup title, and make an entire country celebrate. 

In the social media hype of 2022 and after, some people have called this the greatest final of all time. I am sorry to say that it wasn’t, although it was certainly dramatic. But the French were simply too bad in the first half, and the reason it became so dramatic was because Argentina came so close to messing up a trophy that were basically in their hands. The South Americans were deserved champions, but they were not an overwhelmingly good team. It was certainly special for Lionel Messi, who could finally step out of the shadow of other great players, and sign up as a legend. Because you are not a legend until you win a World Cup.

Match Stats:

• Qatar, December 18th 2022 Lusail Stadium 
• Attendance: 89,000 
• Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland) 

Argentina-France 3-3 (aet) 
Goals: 1-0 Lionel Messi (p) (23) 2-0 Angel DiMaria (36) 2-1 Kylian Mbappe (p) (80) 2-2 Kylian Mbappe (81) 3-2 Lionel Messi (108) 3-3 Kylian Mbappe (p) (118) 

Penalty kicks: Argentina-France 4-2 

0-1 Kylian Mbappe 
1-1 Lionel Messi 
Kingsley Coman missed for France 
2-1 Paulo Dybala 
Aurelien Tchouameni missed for France 
3-1 Leandro Paredes 
3-2 Kolo Muani 
4-2 Gonzalo Montiel 

Teams:  

Argentina: Emiliano Martinez; Nicolas Otamendi, Cristian Romero,, Nahuel Molina (Gonzalo Montiel, 90), Nicolas Tagliafico (Paulo Dybala, 120); Alexis MacAllister (German Pezzella, 116), Enzo Fernandez, Rodrigo DePaul (Leandro Paredes, 102); Julian Alvarez (Lautaro Martinez, 103), Lionel Messi, Angel DiMaria (Marcos Acuña, 64). Manager: Lionel Scaloni. 
France: Hugo Lloris; Raphael Varane (Ibrahima Konate, 113), Dayot Upamecano, Joules Kounde (Axel Disasi, 112), Lucas Hernandez (Edouard Camavinga, 71); Adrien Rabiot (Youssouf Fafana, 96), Aurelien Tchouameni, Ousmane Dembele (Kolo Muani, 41), Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann (Kinglsey Coman, 71), Olivier Giroud (Marcus Thuram, 41). Manager: Didier Deschamps. 

The Great Di Maria

As the hangover of Argentina's World Cup triumph fades there is a lot of focus on some of the great players who will retire after this World Cup. Most of the focus is obviously on Lionel Messi, who alongside Cristiano Ronaldo has dominated world football for 15-20 years (in 2006 I watched him play for Barcelona alongside Ronaldinho), and who has crowned his career with the World Cup title. But obviously a lot of attention has gone to Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Luka Modric and Luis Suarez - players who have defined the last decade of football, delighted all real football fans, and are set to retire.

But I feel one player is being forgotten: Angel Di Maria has been one of the greatest players in the world for the last 10 years. He has had too many injuries in his career (including the 2014 World Cup final when Argentina could have plausibly won with him on the team against the forward defending slow German defense) and ups and downs in some of his clubs. But he has nevertheless been a defining player in all his clubs, but most notably in the national team, where, despite the fact that he has been overshadowed by Messi, he has stood out: he scored the winner when they won the 2021 Copa America, also scored the winner when Argentina won Olympic gold in 2008, and finally scored Argentina´s opening goal in the World Cup final, following a fantastic first half during which he was one of Argentina's defining players.

A modest player who comes from a very poor background, Di Maria stands out as both a player and a colleague, and if anything, I feel he does not get enough credit for a list of titles that he has certainly had a foot or two in getting for Argentina.

Angel Di Maria will be one of those players who will be missed in the future.

Ups and downs and finally!

I have been a supporter of Argentina since my childhood; since they won the 1986 World Cup. Since then I have suffered more downs than ups with the team; I have been sad, angry and desperate about their lack of results (as amply demonstrated in this very blog) and more often than not been close to giving up. Although the current national team had given us plenty of reasons to be optimistic (as I had also said on this blog) there were so many disappointments that I did not want to be too optimistic despite them having reached the World Cup final against a French team that was looking strangely more vulnerable as the tournament advanced.

The first half of the World Cup final gave every reason to be optimistic: Argentina were fantastic, far better than a French side that looked poor. The first half statistics said it all: Argentina had 15 shots on goal, and France did not once have a shot. Argentina were leading 2-0 on a penalty goal by Lionel Messi, and a truly great counterattack strike by Angel Di Maria. In the second half the French came out a bit more offensive (Marcus Thuram and Kolo Muani came on for Oliver Giroud and Ousman Dembele), but Argentina still appeared to be in full control of the match, and were even creating more chances. 

At this point I was completely relaxed, quietly beginning to celebrate what I had been waiting for...

But to be Argentina fan is to suffer.

I suffered.

The great Kylian Mbappe scored first on a penalty that Nicolas Ottamendi committed on Kolo Muani, and only two minutes later he equalized on a splendid first-timer. 2-2 with only five minutes left. 

It was so unfair! Argentina had been so much better! But France and not least Kylian Mbappe were threatening to show one of the greatest truths in football (and in life): you do not need to be the best to be a winner.

The match went into extra time, and Argentina remained the better side, although the goals had given the French a threatening confidence that they could take the match nevertheless. 

And I was scared.

Then Messi put things right by bringing Argentina ahead 3-2. I was again (carefully) happy with all my hopes within reach.

But soon my hopes were shattered once again, as another penalty gave the annoyingly brilliant Kylian Mbappe the opportunity to score his third goal of the match and make it 3-3.

It took the match into penalties although Emiliano Martinez, "Dibu", made a save from a Kolo Muani free-runner that  almost made me shit my pants and could easily have meant that France would be World Champions.

Penalty kicks are always nerve-wrecking. That said, this one was one-sided as Argentina were dominant. The players scored on every shot, and as he did against the Netherlands, Dibu saved Kingley Coman's penalty. When Aurelien Tchouameni missed the goalposts altogether, Gonzalo Montiel scored the last penalty for Argentina, making them World Champions.

After so much suffering I lifted my arms in a victory that had appeared so unlikely for so long! 

I am still wearing my Argentina shirt!

The final was unique: a never-seen before score of 3-3, with two of the best players in history, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, scoring respectively two and three goals. It had a great Argentina side (France were frankly very poor, in particular in the first half, and this was one of the final's disappointments) but also an incredible French comeback, as well as drama and nerves.

A great World Cup final that took place in a place that should never have hosted such greatness!

Reason to be excited about Argentina

Today's match at Wembley was called the "Finalisima", as it was the contest between the European champions of Italy and the South American champions from Argentina. It is a replacement for the defunct "Confederations Cup", so the match did carry honour and a title for both sides; Italy played to get some consolation from their botched World Cup qualification, while Argentina is clearly aiming at building a team that will be a serious contender for the World Cup title.

Argentina has been strong in the South American qualifiers, and their good form was underlined when they took the South American title, their first title since 1993. But with today's 3-0 victory Argentina should now be considered a serious contender for the title in Qatar. Lionel Scaloni has built an outstanding team that includes Lionel Messi, rather than building the team up around him. Rodrigo de Paul and Giovanni Lo Celso are outstanding and dominate the midfield, with an excellent understanding with Lionel Messi, who also combines well with Lautaro Martinez (who scored the first goal against the Italians after a sharp run and pass by Messi), while Angel di Maria is as dangerous as ever, scoring a great goal after a great pass by Martinez.

Argentina was totally dominant in the second half and the match could have ended with more goals with more luck for the Argentines, although Paolo Dybala made it 3-0 in the dying seconds. But Argentina were far superior to the European champions, who got no consolation from their botched qualification.

For an Argentina fan like myself it is difficult not to be really excited, more excited than for many years, about this Argentina side!

The finals

I had a long trip from San Salvador to Denmark, but I managed to watch this weekend's two great football finals where the home teams, each in their own legendary stadium, lost to the away side.

The Copa America final on Saturday at Maracana Stadium between Brazil and Argentina, was won 0-1 by the Argentineans through an excellent first half strike by Angel di Maria. The Brazilians were not bad, and managed to put some pressure on Argentina in the second half, but in the end the Argentine defense stood strong and Argentina even had the biggest chances for a greater victory.

Argentina's first international title since 1993, and the first time Lionel Messi, losing three finals before this one, had taken a title with his national team, so in every way this was a special (and well-deserved) victory for the Argentineans.

On the European championship final: much of England had for days been prematurely announcing that football would come home, hardly aware that football is already home everywhere else in the world. And this kind of premature celebrations hardly win any sympathy: while the English were (understandably) disappointed most of the world (including myself) celebrated Italy's European Championship triumph.

Having watched the match, England should be disappointed: they went ahead 1-0 after only two minutes on a goal by one of the tournament's best players, Luke Shaw. England kept playing well, but slowly Italy got more comfortable on the pitch, while England, oddly, retreated more and more to defend their lead. One can only feel that they should have kept pressure, trying to close the deal, instead of more or less openly inviting Italy back into the match. 

The Italians do not say no to an invitation and Leonardo Bonucci's second half equalizer was fully deserved as England totally left the match to the splendidly unforgiving Italians.

As  extra time was approaching its end Gareth Southgate made some curious changes, clearly aimed at putting in the kickers for a nerve-wrecking penalty kick contest: Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho came in at the end, and it were exactly those two who missed for England after they had been put in a golden position by Pickford's save of Andrea Belotti's kick. Even though Jorginho missed another for Italy, the only 19-year old Bukayo Saka did not have the nerves to make a proper kick, which was saved by the best player of the tournament Gianluigi Donnarumma (only 22-years old, he may well become one of the best goalkeepers in footballing history), giving Italy their second European champion's title, the first being in 1968.

The most talented young players from England were punished for their infinite talent, and that was the most heartbreaking thing in a final won by the best team of the tournament.

Italy was the best team of the tournament as a whole; a solid, attacking team, scoring most goals (alongside Spain) and with one of the best defensive records, they showed few weak points. All in all, a splendid team, and I reiterate that I find this the best Italy side I have ever seen.

England, in the meantime, won few friends: granted, they played the tournament with the cynical planning required to win a tournament; winning, but not impressing, with a strong defense and some extremely talented players. That said, they seemed too calculating, too careful, despite their immense talent, something that only became too obvious in the final. 

But more than the team, the English fans won no friends in the rest of the world. The vast, vast majority of English fans are good, decent hardworking people (like the vast majority of fans in the world), but they retain a greater minority of brainless hooligans than anywhere else in the world, and their society seems in total denial that they exist: booing at national anthems, using lasers against opposing sides, insults and spits, were sadly overshadowed by the fans storming Wembley before the match and most of all by the racist insults suffered by English players after the defeat.

Who the hell wants to win with supporters like that...?

I have never supported England and never will, but I understand the greatest disappointment that real English fans may feel (even in their denial): that their team's achievement of reaching a final will forever be overshadowed by the memory of the idiotic few ruining the party of the many.

The Covid-19 infected

I heard that Neymar and Angel DiMaria have been diagnosed with Corona virus. I wish them a speedy recovery following the disppointment of losing the Champions League final. This just confirms that everyone can get this virus. It is increasingly frustrating that it does not seem to retreat as the world tries to reopen and we eagerly look forward to moving around freely, and for the privileged few like myself (as well as Neymar and DiMaria), to travel to Europe. That said, don't forget that many people do not have that freedom with or without a virus.

PSG's first Champions League final

Paris St. Germain had learnt from its mistakes against Atalanta, and with Kylian Mbappe and Angel DiMaria in the starting lineup they never looked back. Angel Di Maria, besides scoring the second goal, set up both other goals, headers by Marquinhos and Juan Bernat, and Neymar, except for the fact that he should have scored a goal, is concentrated and participating in the buildup. Paris looks like a team that really wants to win the title, and whoever they meet in the final will have to control their outstanding attacking players.
Except for the fact that PSG played a great match, there is not much to say about RB Leipzig. They seemed a bit nervous and overwhelmed by the occasion,  and made some mistakes in defense that PSG promptly punished, in particular in Juan Bernat's goal, where the German side appeared naive. They have been a refreshing side in this season's Champions League, but today surely did not show that they should belong in the final.

Valentines Day in Paris

Everyone, except FC Barcelona, seems to know that Paris Saint Germain has a quality team who under Unai Emery has learned to prepare for a match. And Barcelona seemed stunned the entire match as they proved inferior to PSG in every regard. It would have been nice to have a "Manita" to rub in Barcelona's faces, but in the end it was "only" 4-0, a result FC Barcelona can be most thankful about.
First about PSG: They seem to be the team of the future. Young players like Adrien Rabiot and Julian Draxler excelled, while "older" faces such as Marco Verrati, Angel Di Maria and Edison Cavani totally outshined Messi, Neymar and Suarez. Di Maria and Cavani both scored goals full of love on what was also their birthday.
The main reason for the result was a splendid PSG side who could go all the way if they play like today! But one must also mentioned FCB: the fact that they played such a horrible match can only be blamed on the manager, Luis Enrique. Do not mind the demotivated side, but some choices were simply awkward; Andre Gomes instead of Rakitic made them lose the midfield and Sergi Roberto was so bad as right-back (admittedly not his natural position) that it was like handing Draxler a highway to run on.
Barcelona are all but out of the Champions League and with meager chances of winning the Liga title, they may take a consolation with the Copa del Rey, but the question is whether this is enough for Luis Enrique to maintain his job.

Di Maria to Paris

The long running rumour that Angel Di Maria was on the way out of Manchester United have been confirmed. Next season Angel Di Maria will be in Paris St. Germain. For any football fan this is a welcome change; Di Maria is one if the best players in the world, but his change to Manchester United put him at a club with a coach that was not willing or able use Di Maria in his tactical setup. This reinforced a period where Di Maria seemed to lack a confidence that is so important for any footballer.

A player like Di Maria is certainly wasted on a club as Manchester United, but he will certainly fit in Laurent Blanc's Paris St. Germain where he will join other South Americans (and Argentines) such as Ezequiel Lavezzi, Javier Pastore, Edison Cavani, Thiago Silva, as well as the great Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The purchase of Di Maria is only bound to make Paris better this coming season.

Di Maria the saviour?

On the same day that Manchester United got destroyed in the League Cup 4-0 by a team called MK Dons (from the third tier English league) they announced that they have paid 84 Million Euros for the Real Madrid player Angel di Maria.
84 Million is a lot of money, and is in fact the most that an English club has ever paid for a footballer. Considering the fantastic players that have passed through the English league and not least through Manchester United, the amount seems completely out of proportion with who Di Maria is.
Granted, Di Maria is a good player, but he is not the player that can lift Manchester United out of the bad period they are in. Only one man can do that: Louis Van Gaal. The Dutchman has not had a good start, and perhaps Di Maria is part of a long-terms plan in Manchester United. But most of all it seems like a desperate gamble on a player that will have a pressure on him that he will not be able to take.

The final: Argentina

I support Argentina and I am wearing my Argentina shirt today. It will be a long-held dream to see them again lift the trophy, as I still remember their last triumph with nostalgia. 1986; when football became my passion.
That said, I have been very critical of their play in this tournament. They are not that offensive side that many expected with the players they have. Perhaps it is understandable: this tournament has proven that headless attack is not a way to go, and Argentina has unfortunately, much before the tournament, been struggling with defensive weakness. In fact, I always thought that defensive weakness would be their problem. However, they have proven far better, if not careful, in defense. Marco Rojo and Martin Demichelis have been surprisingly solid, and Sergio Romero in goal has been one of their best players. Besides this Javier Mascherano has come out as one of the best players of the tournaments, playing splendidly as a holding midfielder.
The apparently strong attacking has been more of a problem. While we have seen glimpses of brilliance in Lionel Messi, he still looks tired, far from his best form, where he would be fearful to the Germans (remember his five goals against Bayer Leverkusen in 2012?). Sergio Aguero's eternal injuries has made him into a non-player in the tournament; not only absent, but even poor when he has come in. Ezequiel Lavezzi has been a better replacement, and worked harder in the last matches than in the first, where he seemed to think he was still on vacation. The same came be said of Gonzalo Higuain, who worked like a horse against the Dutch and scored the winner against Belgium. However, Higuain is still a poor striker; he was in Real Madrid, and he still is one who needs ten chances to score a goal. You don't get ten chances in a World Cup final!
Angel Di Maria has been one of the better Argentines, and his absence will be felt, although Benfica's young Enzo Perez has been a strong replacement. He does not provide the same offensive prowess as DiMaria, but has given the defensive midfield depth, giving space to the attackers.

Although I support Argentina, Germany are big favorites. But they do have weaknesses, and the team that exposed them most in this tournament were none other than Algeria, a side that fought bravely and had a style that is somewhat similar to Argentina.
Germany has played the entire tournament with a high defensive line. This also gave Ghana golden opportunities in the first round, and forced the brilliant Manuel Neuer to play almost as a sweeper. It worked but it was risky. Throughout the tournament, Argentina has faced very compact back lines that have given little space to their strikers, perhaps except for Nigeria. The Argentines do have the potential to exploit the high German defensive line.

Anything can happen in a final! I hope Argentina wins, but know it will have to be the match of their lives! The Germans are an amazing team!

Argentina in the semifinals

Argentina are in the semifinals after defeating Belgium 1-0 on an early goal by Gonzalo Higuain. Although Argentina played well the first half hour, second half saw them holding to the result, defending well against a rather toothless and disappointing Belgian side.

So Argentina did not impress, but have now made it the furthest they have made it in a World Cup since 1990. They will be seriously weakened though: Angel DiMaria went out with an injury and will be out for the remainder of the tournament. With Aguero out as well, Argentina will miss more pace. They already play very slow and players other than Messi are not keen to take on more responsibility.

I can still not get Argentina making it, but they have made it this far, and with this I only become more hopeful...

A historic day

If anyone were ever to write a biography about me (pretty boring, but please play along), today would be a day to write down: the very first time in my life that I supported Real Madrid! It was of course the Danish champions of FC Copenhagen, whose second defeat in a week would give me more happiness after Brondby finally defeated them last Saturday in the Danish league.
However, after Real Madrid went up 2-0, I must admit that I stopped watching: Real Madrid were not even trying, but were obviously far superior to FC Copenhagen. Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel DiMaria ended up giving Real Madrid a comfortable and easy 4-0 victory, and I am grateful.
But in the end, I could care less.
Instead, I switched channel to watch a much more interesting match, where the defending Champions League champions, Bayern Munich, under Pep Guardiola, played a fantastic match away against Manchester City, winning 1-3, putting themselves firmly at the top of Champions League Group D. In that same group I should mention that CSKA Moscow defeated Viktoria Plzen 3-2, and their third goal was probably the silliest goal ever in Champions League history:

Argentina wakes up

Argentina's national team had their backs against the wall against Costa Rica in a match that they had to win if they were not to be the first host-nation ever to be eliminated in the first round of the Copa América. Costa Rica, although playing with a youth side, had in previous matches proved well-organised and disciplined, while Argentina had looked like a mess.
But there was really never any doubt about the result after Argentina went ahead 1-0 at the end of the first half with a goal by Kun Agüero. Until then, Argentina had also dominated against a solid Costa Rican defense, who had nevertheless been lucky in some situations.
In the second half Costa Rica seemed to fall apart, and after Agüero made it 2-0 it turned into a walkover for Argentina, who completely dominated, and 3-0 was not one goal too little for the hosts, who now take the second spot in the group behind Colombia.
Argentina's coach Sergio Batista had made three important changes to the starting lineup: Carlos Téves, Esteban Cambiasso and Ezequiel Lavezzi were replaced by Kun Agüero, Ángel Di María and Gonzalo Higuaín (who nevertheless missed some huge chances!), and this obviously worked much better for the Argentinean side, who although facing a rather lame Costa Rican side, seems much stronger with this lineup. Lionel Messi, who has been criticised a lot seemed much more comfortable with Higuaín in front of him, and in particular with Agüero and Di María running deep (two of the goals came from from Messi passes).
Although I am very happy for Argentina, they still have to convince against stronger opposition in the coming quarterfinal. That said, it is a characteristic of great teams that they are best when they have their back against a wall, and Argentina today showed that!

The genius José Mourinho

I think José Mourinho will go over to history as the greatest coach that ever lived. What he already achieved in FC Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan far exceed what most coaches achieve (and note, as a true global 21st century football legioneer, he has done it in now four different countries!), but what he is doing in Real Madrid is also impressive.
Real Madrid has been a circus the last years, with a rotating door of coaches, many who seem to have been pressured to use the stars in a lineup that seemed more about individual players than about the team. Understandably, fans have often been annoyed.
Everywhere he has been, Mr. Mourinho focuses on the team. No player is above the team, and he works to get the best out of every player. He has a superb eye for the form of the players and surely give them a lot of space and responsibility, something they also return.
Real Madrid's new players are looking awesome: Mesut Özil and Angel Di Maria (as well as Khedira, although with a lower profile than these two) have all been splendid. They are young, and have benefitted Cristiano Ronaldo from the passes and space that these players give him. Yesterday he scored four goals against Racing Santander, with Mesut Özil as the frequent architect.
Real Madrid has scored 12 goals in its last two home matches. Mourinho is certainly refuting his reputation as a defensive coach, but one must also mention that the team has so far only played "small" teams from La Liga (except for Espanyol). A big test will be in early November when they face Atlético Madrid, but surely the team is looking awesome.
I think Mourinho is on the way to adding more trophies to his and Real Madrid's CV.

Barcelona or Real Madrid

In the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup, Sevilla defeated Barcelona 3-1 at home, and there was hope that someone besides Real Madrid would be able to challenge the Catalan giants this season. However, in today's second leg, Sevilla were mere spectators to a spectacular Barcelona side. Xavi and Iniesta, the architects of Spain's World Cup triumph were outstanding, and with three goals Messi is probably confirming that he is quite worthless without the two generals behind him.
Barcelona will be truly exciting to watch this year, because of their style, since the Spanish League is now virtually a two-team affair: nobody but Barcelona and Real Madrid have any chance of winning it, and the only question is whether José Mourinho can do his magic in Real Madrid and make them take the title from Barca.
Real Madrid is looking interesting because of the many changes; of course José Mourinho's entrance on the team, but specially because of the many new starts that have entered the team, such as Angel di Maria, Mesut Özil and Ricardo Carvalho, and whether Mourinho can build up a team using some of the other stars such as Ronaldo, Benzemá, Higuaín, Casillas and Xabi Alonso. The quality is undoubtfully there. It will not be easy for them though if Barcelona plays like they did today, but Mourinho has been known to have a good run with the Catalans.
In any case, it will be exciting, but only for one thing: Barcelona or Real Madrid?